10 weeks out

I have a show May 17th and still have 30 pounds to go. I am writing this because at this point i am usually at 20 pounds or under for my show weight. My trainer, who is a musclemania pro says to just drop the weights to 30 minutes a day and up the cardio from 70 minutes to 90 minutes. I should let you all know I am natural and at the time just weighed 247 at 10 percent body fat. My trainer took me off all supplements except glutamine and one whey shake with water immediately after weight training. This is my 4th show with him and have finished fourth 3 times, and 5th my first show. Just wondering if i should be cranking up the cardio even more, or if i will lose to much muscle within the 10 weeks. My diet upon waking is a rice cake with a tablespoon of teddy's peanut butter. I head to the gym for my weight session and head home. I have my shake with one half chicken breast with asparagus before heading to work. I have the same food at work twice, before heading to the gym for my cardio session. Back at home I may substitute the chicken for fish, but always with the asparagus and a small bottle of G2. Within the day i am drinking one gallon of water. I would like to come into the show around 217 at 5-6 percent bodyfat. I should let you know i am 6'1". Do i have time to make it, and is there anything wrong that you think should be fixed. Thanks for your time.

Your eating nothing. To drop another 20-30lbs sounds off to me. Your that heavy and def not getting enough protein and I would never cut down on weight training. If weight training gave you the mass, not weight training will lose your mass, especially in a calorie deficit. In the other shows did you lose do to conditioning (holding too much fat???)

Your eating nothing. To drop another 20-30lbs sounds off to me. Your that heavy and def not getting enough protein and I would never cut down on weight training. If weight training gave you the mass, not weight training will lose your mass, especially in a calorie deficit. In the other shows did you lose do to conditioning (holding too much fat???)

The most feedback came from not enough lower lat spread and not enough quad striations. I think me and my trainer also need to talk about the last 2 days before the competition because i feel like i am coming in to flat. Having those 4 top 5 finishes, i really want that pro card. Any advice on what you would change please feel free to let me know. Look forward to your feedback.

The most feedback came from not enough lower lat spread and not enough quad striations. I think me and my trainer also need to talk about the last 2 days before the competition because i feel like i am coming in to flat. Having those 4 top 5 finishes, i really want that pro card. Any advice on what you would change please feel free to let me know. Look forward to your feedback.

Hey man i am no guru, but i think you need a new perspective on the whole approach to a prep. There are lots of useful resources on the web. I honestly don't know how you missed them lol...

You need to have a caloric budget in addition to target (mandatory) carb/fat/protein quantities.

If you really want that pro card, consider hiring a different trainer. If you are really 6'1 255 and 10% then you are a gem and most coaches would be glad to have you

The most feedback came from not enough lower lat spread and not enough quad striations. I think me and my trainer also need to talk about the last 2 days before the competition because i feel like i am coming in to flat. Having those 4 top 5 finishes, i really want that pro card. Any advice on what you would change please feel free to let me know. Look forward to your feedback.

Id need to see ya. I cant give you any feedback without seeing you! Your telling me your body fat but theres a lot of ways to measure that and techniques people use all differ.

response to dragevo

Id need to see ya. I cant give you any feedback without seeing you! Your telling me your body fat but theres a lot of ways to measure that and techniques people use all differ.

I will get a photo up as soon as possible.. I know he uses a scale that calculates body fat percentage. He also uses the machine that pinches your quad, the back of your triceps, and your stomach. I don't remember him using anything else, but i understand what you are saying. At my last show we thought i was coming in at 5 percent, and at the show there was supposedly a new company that gave more accurate body fat readings. Well, when they checked me, i was 6.4 percent. A pretty significant difference. I understand that if you got 10 trainers to test someone's bodyfat, you would probably get 10 similar answers, but different none the same. Pretty frustrating. For right now, I am going to try and get as shredded as possible since enough muscle has never been the problem. There just alway's seem's to be a couple guy's on stage who are around 3 percent. I will never beat them no matter how big i am if i am carrying 5-6 percent bodyfat. Try to get back to me and let me know how you determine your bodyfat and what it is at a show. thanks.

I do use a 7point caliper to test s well as electronic hand held. But to really determine BF its expensive and it doesn't matter. My last show I was 2.5% on calipers. Whats that tell me? They're not accurate. So I use them as a trending tool and that's the extent of it. When I caliper people its just one tool in my arsenal. So the look is what matters. If your a big guy with a boxy waist, you need to get completely shredded to compete with the smaller shredded guys. For instance, in helping a friend prep who has 3 overall wins and he steps onstage in the NPC at 5'10" and 170lbs. He continues to crush the heavy weights in the overall categories. His waist onstage is 25 inches with striated glutes. For you to win Im going to assume you need to lose every ounce of fat and if yu don't you gonna get beat by the guy who is. Lets see the pics and Ill see if I can help

I have a show May 17th and still have 30 pounds to go. I am writing this because at this point i am usually at 20 pounds or under for my show weight. My trainer, who is a musclemania pro says to just drop the weights to 30 minutes a day and up the cardio from 70 minutes to 90 minutes. I should let you all know I am natural and at the time just weighed 247 at 10 percent body fat. My trainer took me off all supplements except glutamine and one whey shake with water immediately after weight training. This is my 4th show with him and have finished fourth 3 times, and 5th my first show. Just wondering if i should be cranking up the cardio even more, or if i will lose to much muscle within the 10 weeks. My diet upon waking is a rice cake with a tablespoon of teddy's peanut butter. I head to the gym for my weight session and head home. I have my shake with one half chicken breast with asparagus before heading to work. I have the same food at work twice, before heading to the gym for my cardio session. Back at home I may substitute the chicken for fish, but always with the asparagus and a small bottle of G2. Within the day i am drinking one gallon of water. I would like to come into the show around 217 at 5-6 percent bodyfat. I should let you know i am 6'1". Do i have time to make it, and is there anything wrong that you think should be fixed. Thanks for your time.

Being that you've dropped the weight before you should really gauge your cut off how your body reacts in my opinion. I am also competing on the 17th of May, however I tend to naturally be about 10-14% bodyfat when not comp. my experience before a show is to continue to lift at a higher rep range for only 40-60 minutes and about 15 minutes of cardio 5-6 days a week with 1-2 full cardio no weight days. With macros I lower my caloric intake bi-weekly and adjust percentages to match my training... Meaning energy level throughout my day and lift so that I don't feel so groggy that I can't train. Lowering the caloric intake also helps me gauge my weight loss ahead of time. Being 10 weeks out I would kick up your training and dial back the cardio, that's just my opinion. I find for myself that I grow into the weight I want to compete at, become more dense and lean and maintain more muscle mass than a heavy cardio plan. Also at this point I would be looking into dropping 1.5-2.5 lbs a week if you desire a specific weight to compete at.. Again training with weights for 4-5 more weeks could add so valuable density to your muscle mass and you could be happier being 3-5lbs more than anticipated and not sacrificing as much muscle.

Being that you've dropped the weight before you should really gauge your cut off how your body reacts in my opinion. I am also competing on the 17th of May, however I tend to naturally be about 10-14% bodyfat when not comp. my experience before a show is to continue to lift at a higher rep range for only 40-60 minutes and about 15 minutes of cardio 5-6 days a week with 1-2 full cardio no weight days. With macros I lower my caloric intake bi-weekly and adjust percentages to match my training... Meaning energy level throughout my day and lift so that I don't feel so groggy that I can't train. Lowering the caloric intake also helps me gauge my weight loss ahead of time. Being 10 weeks out I would kick up your training and dial back the cardio, that's just my opinion. I find for myself that I grow into the weight I want to compete at, become more dense and lean and maintain more muscle mass than a heavy cardio plan. Also at this point I would be looking into dropping 1.5-2.5 lbs a week if you desire a specific weight to compete at.. Again training with weights for 4-5 more weeks could add so valuable density to your muscle mass and you could be happier being 3-5lbs more than anticipated and not sacrificing as much muscle.

Thank's for that great answer. I have heard of guys who use the approach of growing into a show, i am just worried about getting shredded enough. Should i stay on an ultra low carb diet, or do you think i should add a few more simple sugars like fruit, or maybe a slice or two of ezekiel bread. I know my coach is all about the cardio because that is what has worked for him, but he is only 5'4" and 140 pounds on stage. I am 6'1" and have always walked on stage between 215-218 pounds at around 7 percent bodyfat. It seems like 7 percent is the number i can't get under. And like i said, i will not beat the guys who are coming in at 3 percent. At 242 right now my waist is 34 inches. My arms are just over 20 inches with a 54 inch chest. Size has never been my problem, just the extra bodyfat. My trainer wants me to up the cardio to 2 hours, but i will lose so much of my hard earned size. any additional advice would be greatly appreciated. I should also let you know that 2-3 days before the show, i get a very soft look to my muscles. I think i need to carb up, but again my coach is against it. He is the pro and i let him run the show, but if i am left out of the top 3 again, i may be looking for someone else. Thanks

I do use a 7point caliper to test s well as electronic hand held. But to really determine BF its expensive and it doesn't matter. My last show I was 2.5% on calipers. Whats that tell me? They're not accurate. So I use them as a trending tool and that's the extent of it. When I caliper people its just one tool in my arsenal. So the look is what matters. If your a big guy with a boxy waist, you need to get completely shredded to compete with the smaller shredded guys. For instance, in helping a friend prep who has 3 overall wins and he steps onstage in the NPC at 5'10" and 170lbs. He continues to crush the heavy weights in the overall categories. His waist onstage is 25 inches with striated glutes. For you to win Im going to assume you need to lose every ounce of fat and if yu don't you gonna get beat by the guy who is. Lets see the pics and Ill see if I can help

I am getting those pictures to you in 2 day's, but 2 fill you in on what's been going on i have lost a few pounds, but no bodyfat percentage. I also never told you that i can't take any fat burners or stimulants because of a specific heart condition. That is why i alway's feel at a disadvantage against other competitors. While i know not all natural competitors use fat burners, i am sure the majority do. Any advice on kick starting my metabolism without stimulants. Because my coach still think's cardio is the only way for me. Thanks for always being helpful.

sorry but honestly your trainer sounds like he was blessed with genetics and in return has learned nothing about nutrition or exercise.. fortunately for you (and him) if your numbers are what you say they are.. your genetics are ridiculously good so it doesn't matter that his approach is terrible.

had it been a normal person it sounds like he would have them looking like a marathon runner on stage..

just because ppl have succeeded themselves doesn't mean they got there through knowledge and hard work.. some ppl can grow and lean out doing nothing right.. some ppl can barely grow and barely lean out doing everything right.

sorry but honestly your trainer sounds like he was blessed with genetics and in return has learned nothing about nutrition or exercise.. fortunately for you (and him) if your numbers are what you say they are.. your genetics are ridiculously good so it doesn't matter that his approach is terrible.

had it been a normal person it sounds like he would have them looking like a marathon runner on stage..

just because ppl have succeeded themselves doesn't mean they got there through knowledge and hard work.. some ppl can grow and lean out doing nothing right.. some ppl can barely grow and barely lean out doing everything right.

you are right about him having great genetics. there are times when he will only train arms twice a month, and he still grows. he has wide shoulders and a crazy small waist. I appreciate the comment about having good genetics, and when it comes to upper body you are right. I do have small calves even when worked very hard. Also have a very tough time having my quads shredded. But i will go into the show at around 215 with right around 20" arms, 54 inch chest, and a 30" waist. But with size comes the hard part of making sure every muscle pops and i have had an impossible job of getting below 6 percent for a show. If you can think of anything that may help lose a little more body fat feel free to let me know. Your picture shows that you know how to stay lean. Thanks.

definitely looking forward to the pics bud... i was afraid i might have come across too harsh in my first post.. i'm 16 weeks into prep and my nights i'm a little on edge haha

No i did not think you came across to harsh. I want the truth and you said what was on your mind. Out of curiosity, do you usually start 16 weeks out for a show. I will take a look at your contest prep.Thanks.